


Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer

by dancinglily



Series: A Hundred Lifetimes [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Country club/Resort, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Making Out, Muggle AU, Oneshot, Summer Vacation, also, i may or may not have been inspired by certain scenes of hsm 2 to write this, i'm sorry if you get the song stuck in your head after reading the title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-22 13:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinglily/pseuds/dancinglily
Summary: Lily works at a country club over the summer and has to remind herself that she can't fool around with guests, even if said guests are charming, bespectacled, messy-haired boys.or"AU where person A of your OTP works at a summer resort and person B is vacationing at said resort with their family and they both can't stop checking each other out until they finally make out"





	Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer

“This place is full of stuck-up rich kids,” James says rolling the backseat window up, as Mrs. Potter stops the car in front of the hotel’s main entrance.

“You’re a stuck-up rich kid.” James glares at Sirius who simply smiles back at him. They get out of the car and Mrs. Potter hands the keys to the valet, while Mr. Potter, Sirius and James get the luggage out of the boot, before carrying it into the lobby.

It looks exactly like what you would expect a country club to look like, with big-panelled windows letting in the bright sunlight that reflects onto the marble floors and glass cabinets lined against the stone walls, in which all sorts of golf and tennis trophies are displayed, while at every corner, palm trees tower over the guests wearing tropical flower patterned shirts.

“I can’t believe you talked us into going here,” James grumbles as he hears a snotty looking woman at the top of the queue putting on airs and graces, and complaining to the check-in girl about how the fluffiness of her pillows isn’t satisfactory, about how the colour of the bathrobes aren’t becoming and about how there aren’t enough shampoo bottles in her bathrooms to properly wash her hair, and _blah_ , _blah_ , _blah_.

“Don’t be such a grouch, Jamie,” Mr. Potter says, ruffling his son’s hair, although he’s barely half an inch shorter than him.

“Don’t mind him, Fleamont. I’m sure he’ll end up enjoying it. Besides, your father and I need some holidays, since the ministry has got us working like dogs. And it’s not exactly like a walk in the park to bring you two up either,” Mrs. Potter says, looking at James and Sirius through her brow.

“Bring us up? We’re all brought up already, Mrs. P! We’re _men_.” Sirius says, patting his puffed-out chest, which makes Mr. Potter chuckle.

“And did you pop out of the womb that way?” Mrs. Potter asks.

“I don’t recall…”

“Well, my point stands,” Mrs. Potter says, nodding as if it were punctuation.

James still can’t believe that he had agreed, or in this case, been forced to stay at this boring country club all in the name of “spending quality family time together”, when the other alternative had been to go on a road trip with his three best mates. Instead of driving around the countryside, sleeping in cheap motels, going to beach parties, getting drunk off his arse with other uni students and flirting with cute girls, he would have to spend the next two and a half weeks surrounded by snobby old people that complained about their air conditioning when it was one degree too cold or too warm, and where the peak of excitement would be reached when some old fellow would score a hole in twenty three on the golf course. Now _that_ was his idea of fun.

The woman who had been moaning about the quality of her pillows seems to have her concerns taken care of, because the queue goes forward and James suddenly finds himself facing the loveliest girl he has ever seen standing on the other side of the check-in desk. She seems to be about his age and has amazing deep red hair that spills onto her shoulders and trickles onto her face like cherry wine. But what James can’t stop looking at are her bright green almond-shaped eyes that remind him of tropical forests.

“I’m James,” he says extending his hand, before he even realises what he’s doing.

The girl’s brow knit together, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, before slowly shaking his hand. “Er, hello James. I’m Lily, as my name tag says,” she says pulling her hand back and pointing at the small plaque pinned to her shirt.

“Sorry, we’ve raised him to be very polite with everybody,” Mrs. Potter says, patting James’ forearm.

“He'd make a fine dog,” Sirius says, earning him a jab in the ribs from James. Fortunately for him, the girl seems to not have heard him, or at least pretends that she hasn’t.

“‘s alright. I'd rather have guests shaking my hand, than yelling at me about the fluffiness of the pillows.” She pauses and looks over her shoulder. “Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that. ‘The customer is always right’,” she says, rolling her eyes, then freezes, eyes open with horror. “I can't believe I just said that. Please don't get me fired.”

Mr. Potter chuckles. “We can't promise anything. I'd be best to keep you on your toes.”

“Yessir. So, I'm assuming you have reservations?”

“Yes, two bedrooms under ‘Potter’.”

“Okay, just let me check.” She starts typing away on the computer. “Is it a family tradition or something?”

“What is?”

“Pottery.” The four of them blink back at her. “I'm joking. Silly joke. Please don't get me fired,” she says, laughing nervously.

“Do they require taking humour classes in order to be hired as staff here?” Mr. Potter asks.

“Nope, but people skills are highly recommended. So you’re in room 9 on the ground floor and room 21 on the second. Here are your keys,” she says sliding two key cards towards them. “Room 9 is quite easy to find, it's right here down the hall to your _left_ , but room 21 is a little trickier. I'd be happy to have someone cover the desk for me while I show you the way.”

“Yes, that would be lovely,” Mrs. Potter says, taking the key to room 9. “Boys, if you don't mind, Fleamont and I will take room 9 since it’s on the ground floor and its easier to access. We're not in the prime of our lives like you two after all.”

James thanks his lucky stars for having given him the opportunity of chatting with Lily while she shows them the way, hoping that it will a very long one.

“So, you work here? I mean - of course you work here, but - how?” he says as they climb the second flight of stairs.

“Smooth, mate. Real smooth,” Sirius mutters in his ear before skipping over the last two steps and then ambling down the corridor a couple of feet in front of them, his hands in his pockets.

“Well, I needed a few extra pounds, this place was hiring and a friend of mine convinced me to send in a resume and _voilà_! I got the job. Although I still don't know how that happened since I've got no qualifications.”

“That's not true. I hear you've taken humour classes and have great people skills.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, my friend.”

“Well, as long as it gets me to my hotel room.”

“Speaking of your room, here it is.”

The three of them stop.

“Well that wasn't that difficult to find,” James says.

“I'd rather be safe than sorry. You never know how stupid the guests are going to be.”

James cocks an eyebrow. “Does that mean you thought we looked stupid?”

“Er…”

“You're actually thinking about it!”

“Of course she's thinking about. You asked her if she worked here, mate,” Sirius said, leaning against the wall.

“Er, if I don't return to the desk the manager is going to kill me, so I should really go. Also, staff aren't allowed to run in the corridors, so if you could turn a blind eye on what I'm about to do that would be great. Bye!” She breaks into a sprint and James’ eyes follow her until she turns around the corner.

Sirius waves a hand in front of his eyes. “Mate, the key.” James absentmindedly hands it to him and the lock clicks. “Are you going to stand in the corridor forever or are you going to come in?”

He shakes his head, his eyes refocusing, and comes into the room, thinking that this holiday might not be such a bad idea after all.

* * *

 “Oh my god, look up,” James says, nudging Sirius who is laying on the sunlounger next to his.

Sirius props himself on his elbows and looks at him over the rim of his sunglasses. “What?”

“It's her. Lily. She just went into lifeguard duty,” he says, nodding towards the tall lifeguard chair, sitting at the other end of the pool, and onto which Lily has just climbed, her hair blazing in the summer sun and falling over the back of her one piece bathing suit.

Sirius rolls his eyes and lets himself fall back. “I thought it was actually something important,” he mutters.

“More important than you getting the perfect summer tan.”

“Now _there_ you are mistaken, my friend,” he says, casually looking at his sun kissed arms, which James smacks away.

“Will you pay attention here! I'm trying to  elaborate a tactic to woo her.”

“I hear girls dig it when a bloke talks about flirting as if they were an old gammer.”

“Really?”

“No, you dimwit. I can’t believe I’m not even into girls, but I know how to talk to them better than you do.”

“Hey, that's not true! I'm really good at talking to girls. Anyway, I was thinking more along the lines of impressing her with my wicked diving moves.”

Sirius props himself up on his elbows again, taking his glasses off this time. “Your wicked diving moves?” he says, his eyebrows in his hairline.

“Yeah. I thought I could do a couple smooth dives, maybe some flips…”

“Well, be my guest,” Sirius says, gesturing towards the diving board in front of them. “The stage is yours.”

“You think it'll impress her?” Sirius nods eagerly at his question and James gets up and walks onto the diving board. “Is she looking at me? There's no point if she isn't looking at me.”

“Hop on the board a little, maybe it'll get her attention.”

James does as he is told, accumulating momentum. “Is she looking at me now?”

“Yes, now’s your moment!”

James jumps on the board again, which propels him higher into the air. But before he has the time to straighten his arms over his head, two hands push him and he crashes into the water, splashing  all the guest around him. When his head breaks the surface of the pool, he spits water out of his mouth before shouting, “Sirius, you absolute dick!”

A couple parents give him dirty looks, covering their children’s ears.

“Now, now, this is a family hotel, Jamsie. There are children around,” Sirius says, looking at him over the edge of the pool with a big smirk on his face. James splashes water in his direction and tries to grab one of his feet to drag him into the pool, but Sirius jumps out of the way.

“Look at it this way, you sure as hell got her attention now!”

James turns his head towards the other end of the pool and, surely enough, Lily is looking right at them. He can’t see her eyes since she’s wearing a pair of dark green butterfly sunglasses, but he’s pretty sure the corners of her lips have quirked up.

“Race with me,” James says, his head snapping back up at Sirius.

“What?”

“Race with me. Down the length of the pool and back.”

“No way.”

“If you do, I’ll do your laundry for a whole month.”

Sirius scoffs. “As if you did your own laundry.”

“I’ll give you free samples of Sleekeazy’s newest products.”

“I already get loads from your mum.”

“Er, I’ll…” James says, racking his brains. “I’ll keep your motorcycle clean for a whole month!”

Sirius reclines back in his sunlounger, putting his hands behind his head. “I wouldn’t let you lay your hands on my bike in a million years.”

“Come on, Sirius! _Oh_ … I know. I’ll switch rooms with you at home for the rest of the summer!”

Sirius sits back up. “You mean the room with the big bathtub and the telly that has football on 24/7?”

“That’s the one,” James says, nodding slowly with slightly bulging eyes.

“And the back door that you can reach from the garden without having to go through the house, and which allows you to invite fit blokes home?”

“Yeah, _baby_ \- I mean, I invite fit girls home, but yeah. So… do you want my room, or not?”

Sirius gets up from the chair and crouches at the edge of the pool. “Deal,” he says, shaking James’ hand. The latter doesn’t miss the opportunity to pull him by the arm, making him fall sideways into the pool.

“You little piece of sh - ”

“Hey, language! This is a family hotel!” James cackles as he swims away from Sirius who looks as if her were about to drown him.

“So are we gonna do this or what?” Sirius asks, shaking his wet hair out of the way. As he does it, James notices a few girls scattered around the pool ogling at the way the water drips onto Sirius’ toned, but slender chest.

“Sorry, too distracted counting how many girls are gawking at you at the moment.”

Sirius shows his characteristic half-smirk. “Well, let’s give them a show, why don’t we?”

“Oh, you want a show? I’ll give you a show. If I win the race, not only will I gain the affection of my beloved Lily, but I’ll also be allowed to slap your face in front of all of these girls. And if you win, you’ll get my bedroom - well, you’re getting my bedroom no matter what - _and_ you’ll be allowed to slap me once when I’m not expecting it.”

“Five times!”

“Are you mad? One time!”

“Four times!”

“No bloody way! Two times and that’s as high as I’ll go.”

Sirius grumbles. “Fine.”

They swim towards the lanes cut off from the rest of the pool by boundary lines and get a hold of the edge of the pool, their feet propped against the wall, ready to push themselves off. They’re perfect reflections of one another.

“Okay, on the count of three. The first to do two laps wins. Hey kid!” James says to a mousey-haired boy walking alongside the pool near them with an ice cream in his hand. The boy jumps slightly and his ice cream almost tips over. “It’s alright. Will you count to three for us?”

“Er, sure. One…” James glances at Lily and he’s almost certain that she’s looking in their direction. “Two…” He brings his attention back to the other side of the pool, extending his body, his muscles tensing. “Three!”

Both of them push off the wall simultaneously. James glides the first few meters over the bottom of the pool, his whole body undulating and propelling him forwards. He breaks the surface of the water and kicks furiously with his feet, his arm strokes making him gain speed, and gasping for air every few strokes. Soon enough, his hand touches the cool surface of the opposite wall and he flips around without wasting a second, and doubles his energy for the second lap. He keeps his strokes as fast as possible until his muscles ache, extending his fingers farther every time. Finally, his hand meets the wall.

“I won!” James says, throwing his fist in the air, barely a second before Sirius’ hands touches the wall. “You lose!”

“Whatever. It’s my hair, I should have tied it in a bun. It was slowing me down.”

“No excuses will get you out of this one.”

Sirius sighs and closes his eyes. “Okay, give it to me. Slap me.”

“Someone’s a little eager. Sounds like you actually want me to slap you,” James says, earning him a splash from Sirius.

“Don’t kinkshame me.”

James raises his hand and Sirius winces, waiting for his hand to collide against his cheek.

“Just do it already!”

If Sirius had had his eyes open, he would have seen James edge towards him and pull his bathing trunks down.

“Oi! You absolute git!” Sirius says, bending down to pull them back up.

James cackles and swims away from Sirius’ potential punching ratio. “You wanted to put on a show, didn’t you? I’m sure the girls enjoyed it.”

“You wouldn’t be so cocky if I had done the same thing to you in front of your _‘beloved Lily’_ ,” he says, mocking his voice. “And when I say _cock_ -y, I mean it in every sense of the word.”

James rolls his eyes. “Relax, no one saw your pickle.”

“Piss off,” Sirius says, tying his hair into a bun.

“You’re doing it on purpose aren’t you?”

“What?” Sirius says with a would-be innocent look on his face.

“You know girls love the man bun.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, flashing him a smile.

“Boys!” Mrs. Potter says, walking to the edge of the pool with a huge beach bag on her shoulder, clad in a beach robe, her eyes hidden under the large rim of her straw hat. “Just wanted to let you know that we’ve signed both of you up for tennis classes tomorrow.”

James’ arms fall into the water with a splash. “What? Why would you do that, mum?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Plus the lady at the desk told me they would be given by that funny check-in girl we met yesterday. I thought it would be nice since you were complaining about not having people your age around.”

James’ eyes widened with excitement. “Mum, I love you!”

“The classes will be private, by the way. They’re only for you and Sirius.”

“You’re a saint, mother,” James says, blowing a kiss at her.

* * *

 “So the trick here is to simply hold your racquet with both of your hands in front of you and when you see the ball coming towards you, before it has even hit the ground - this is important, because if you do it too late, you’ll be offbeat for the rest of the move - so, before it touches the ground, you should let go of the left hand, bring the racquet backwards on your right hand side - your torso should move with the rest of your arm - and then hit the ball with the middle of the racquet which will come to rest right over your left shoulder. Here, I’ll show you. Throw me the ball!” Lily says to Sirius who’s standing on the other side of the court.

He does as he’s told and Lily gets into position, carrying out each step and striking the ball neatly, making it fly over the net in an almost straight line.

“Got it?” Lily says, looking back at James.

“Don’t worry about me, I pick up on things fast,” James says, waving his hand dismissively.

“Okay, just remember you’re not supposed to hit your partner with the racquet. You’re supposed to hit the ball,” she says, laughing nervously and massaging her pinkish elbow.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m better at playing with my feet,” he says, hopping on the spot.

“You play tennis with your feet?”

“No, I mean, I’m better at playing football with my feet.”

“I’ll have to see it to believe it.”

James’ mouth opens in indignation. “Hey, I’m a great football player! Sirius tell her!”

“Are we gonna play or are you two going to keep flirting?” he says from the other side of the court, his arms wide open in exasperation.

“If you wanted to have your butt kicked you should have just said so,” James says, trying to ignore the heat rising in his cheeks, and making a mental note to murder Sirius later on.

“By you? Sorry mate, but you’ve haven’t managed to make one ball pass over the net. By Lily? Sure.”

“Oh, it’s _on_.”

“Okay, but before you start, just keep to your side of the court,” Lily says, putting her hands on his arm and pushing him to her right. “And I’ll stay on my side.”

She goes back to her place and crouches down slightly, holding her racquet in front of her while her ponytail sways behind her, ready to retaliate fiercely the moment Sirius throws the ball. As he watches her, James absentmindedly brushes his fingers over his arm, where she had touched him just a moment ago.

“Duck!” Lily says, her eyes following the ball.

It’s too late. The ball hits James right on the nose, making him take a couple of steps back. He winces and brings his fingers to his nose, blood starting to drip on his white t-shirt.

“Are you okay?” She feels her hands on his forearms, pulling his hands away from his face. “Shit, you’ve got blood on your shirt.”

“Er, it’s alright. It’s only a little blood,” he says, pinching his already sore nose. A couple drops trickle in is mouth, leaving a coppery taste on his tongue.

“Hey, mate. Are you alright?” Sirius says, trotting to them. “I didn’t mean to hit you in the face.”

“You almost murdered me, you animal!” he says, trying to look at him with his head tilted back.

“It’s not my fault! This wouldn’t have happened if you were paying attention!”

“Who even aims a ball at someone’s face?” More drops fall onto his t-shirt as he gesticulates to his nose, spreading the red stain.

“If you hadn’t been looking at L - ”

“I was looking at my racquet! It seemed to have, er… a loose string.”

“Your head has a loose string.”

“I think there might be a first aid kit in the racquet rental place over there,” Lily says, interrupting their bickering. “If you come with me I could help clean your face up.”

“While you’re at it, cold you maybe fix it too?”

James tries to aim a hit at Sirius, but misses by a longshot due to the awkward posture in which he has to hold his head if he doesn’t want his t-shirt to look like it belongs in a murder scene.

“Fix his aiming skills too while you’re there.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go,” Lily says, pulling James by the arm while he flips Sirius off.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just pick up the balls!” Sirius says with a fake smile on his face.

“Don’t forget to pick yours up! You dropped them a while ago!” James says as he walks away with Lily.

“You two have a heartwarming relationship,” Lily says as they enter the tent and sits James down on a bench. She walks behind the counter and starts rummaging through the shelves and drawers.

“Nah, we bicker a lot, but it’s all a game. He’s like a brother to me.”

It would have been touching to hear him say this if his head wasn’t thrown back and his voice didn’t sound so nasal because of the nose pinching.

“That’s sweet,” Lily says, sitting down next to him, having found the first aid kit and handing him a tissue to stop the bleeding. “Do you want to lay down?”

James’ brow knits together and he eyes her from the corner of his eye. “Huh?”

“Er, I mean - do you want to lay down on the bench? To stop the bleeding?”

He chuckles. “I’m fine Lily, I’m not dying.”

“You didn’t hesitate to display your immense pain back there.”

“That was for Sirius’ benefit,” he says with a grin on his face, which would have been even even more charming if there wasn’t blood dripping onto his lips, Lily thought. “Do you have any siblings?” he asks.

She looks down and swings her feet over the ground. “Older sister. She’s alright.”

“She can’t be that bed if she’s from the same family as you.”

“What did I tell you, Potter. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“But pottery will for sure. I hear that’s a great career choice in this economy.”

Lily snorts inelegantly. “Are you sure you're alright? Your t-shirt doesn't seem to be getting any whiter.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine,” he says, trying to find a spot on his tissue that hasn't been dampened by his blood yet.

“Here, let me.” James turns towards her and their knees bump. She takes the wet tissue from his hand and dumps it in the rubbish, before grabbing a new one, which she dampens with water from her bottle, and starts wiping his upper lip up softly, her other hand on his cheek to steady his face. James looks down at her pink lips, which have parted slightly from her concentrating, and bites his own, trying really hard not to think about how he’d love to lean closer and kiss them.

“Well, this is certainly not how I was expecting it to go.”

“What?” she says, trying hard not to look directly to his eyes and pretending to be very concentrated.

“Pretty girl looking up my nostrils.”

She can't help but let a bubbly laugh flow out of her mouth. She starts dabbing at his chin and slowly traces down the slope of  his neck - maybe a little too slowly - and her other hand absentmindedly falls down to the the neckline of his shirt. James’ Adam’s apple bobs.

She clears her throat and leans away from him. “I think you’re alright now. You should probably change your shirt if you don’t want other guests to think you’ve just murdered someone,” she says, looking down at the red stain clinging to his chest.

“I would, but all my clean shirts are in my room.”

“That’s all right,” she says, standing up and getting behind the counter again. “I can just give you one of the club’s tennis shirts.” She crouches down behind the counter, and James can hear her search through several plastic bags.

“Wouldn’t that be considered stealing?” he says, setting his elbows on the counter and leaning forward to look at what she’s doing.

She stands back up and throws a baby blue t-shirt wrapped in plastic to him. “Not if you don’t get caught.”

James shakes his head. “You are the worst employee I’ve ever met. I don’t know how you won the “Best Employee of the Month” award.”

“How do you know I won that?” she says, looking at him through squinted eyes.

James pushes himself off the counter and ruffles the back of his hair. “Er…” The smile on Lily’s face grows and a slight blush appears on James’ cheeks. “I might have… perused the “Employee of the Month” directory. Congrats by the way.”

“Why thank you, Potter.”

“How does it feel to know that I could crumble your pristine reputation with just two words?” James says, regaining his confident composure.

“And what would those words be, might I ask?”

“Stolen goods,” he says, clicking his tongue.

“If I go down you go down with me, Potter.” His name sounds like a playful threat on her tongue. “And if you don’t watch yourself I’ll take away your privileges from you. No more free shirts for you.”

He ostentatiously tears the wrapper around the t-shirt. “And what could I do to keep said privileges?”

“Behave, for example.”

“But I’m already such a good boy.” he says, pulling his dirty shirt over his head, making his hair point every-which-way, in what Lily finds is the most adorable manner. At the sight of his bare chest, she blushes slightly and tries to distract herself with some papers sitting on the counter top. A smirk appears on James’ face.

“You’re a mama’s boy.”

Take that back!” he says, pulling down the fabric over his chest.

“Mama’s boy,” she singsongs.

“Would a mama’s boy steal a shirt from a hotel?” he says, leaning back onto the counter, his hands resting mere inches away from hers.

“I _gave_ you that shirt.” She looks back up and notices how easy it would be to lean forward a few inches and close the space between them.

“But are there any witnesses that could testify your statement?”

“You wouldn’t steal all the credit of my theft, would you?

“You don’t know what I’m capable of, Evans.” His voice is tainted with menacing promise.

“Oi, you too!”

They both jump away from each other.

“Are you coming back to the court to finish the game or what?” Sirius says, poking his head into the tent.

“Coming,” they say simultaneously.

* * *

 James sets his hotel room’s phone back down on the socket. He knows it’s about the fourth time in three days that he calls the front desk, but, to be completely honest, he has no shame at all. If he has to pretend once or twice a day that something in his hotel room isn’t functioning properly in order to have Lily come up to his room to fix it, then he absolutely will.

What he finds most surprising is that Lily hasn’t even been at the front desk every time he’s called, but miraculously she has always been the one to knock on his door to help, and he hopes that this time will be no exception.

He hears a knock at his door and almost jumps off the seat to go open it. To his heart’s great delight, he finds Lily on the other side, looking gorgeous and slightly flustered, as if she had just been running.

“Hiya,” he says, taking in her rosy cheeks and slight shortness of breath.

“Hey,” she says, holding a toolbox in her hand.. “It seems like you got a faulty bedroom.”

He steps to a side and lets her come in, shutting the door behind her. “Right. I don’t know how it happened, but the shower head just fell into my hand. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s fixable, but I just wanted the opinion of an expert,” he says, walking into the bathroom, Lily closely following behind.

“You weren't kidding,” she says, setting the toolbox on the floor and picking up the shower head laying on the tiles. She examines it for a few seconds and says, “It seems to be missing a screw. Did it fall on the floor somewhere?”

They both crouch down and start looking for it.

“Found it!” James says, triumphantly raising it in the air. “It was behind the trash can.”

“Great.” She rummages through the tool box searching for the right-sized screwdriver, then goes out of the bathroom for a moment, only to come back in with a low stool in her hand. “You hold the shower head while I stand on this and put the missing screw back in.

James enters the glass cubicle and holds the shower head to the hole in the wall to which it should have been connected. As he does so, his t-shirt rides up from his lifting his arms above his head, and Lily can’t help but stare at his toned midriff and the little trail of hairs disappearing under the hem of his trousers. She scrapes her teeth over her bottom lip. She painfully tears her eyes from it and lays the stool in front of James, before stepping onto it and realising how little space there is in the rectangle glass cubicle. Their arms brush against one another as she reaches for the shower head, leaving a tingling sensation on her bare skin. She tries avoiding his eyes, but the fact that they’re at eye-level now doesn’t help either.

“A couple more twists should do it,” she says after a few moments of pregnant silence.

“Thank god, my arms are starting to get sore.”

“I would have thought that all those laps in the pool would have put your arms in good shape.”

A drop of water falls onto her cheek and, before he knows it, James reaches down to wipe it off with the tip his thumb, a soft stroke across her cheekbone leaving a growing trail of flushed skin behind. The screwdriver stops twisting in Lily’s hands which sink down slightly. At that same moment, the lock clicks.

“Oi, James!”

Lily jumps, tumbling off the wobbly stool before James catches her, his hands grabbing her sides, but her elbow collides against the water switch and cold water starts to pour out of the faucet above them.

“What's going on in here?” Sirius says, poking his head through the door as Lily jumps out of the cubicle, tripping with the border.

“Nothing - I mean, just fixing the shower.”

Sirius eyebrows move to his hairline. “Seems to be working well,” he says taking a look at their wet clothes and hair, and the water still falling into James’ head. The latter switches it off and a few drops trickle to the floor.

“Er, well I'm going to let you two figure it out,” he says, ducking back out of the bathroom. He walks out and closes the front door behind him.

James steps out of the shower. “Are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself, right?”

Lily takes a good look at him, from his adorably tousled and wet hair, to his soaked shirt clinging to his toned chest beautifully, passing by the few drops dripping down his neck that she would just love to gather with her lips. It takes her exactly two seconds to grab his collar and press her lips to his. James is taken by surprise, but it doesn’t take him long to put his hands on her hips and pull her closer.

After barely a few moments, Lily pulls her lips away noisily. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit!”

“What?” James says, slightly out of breath, his hands still at her sides. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re not supposed to fool around with guests!” she says, bringing her hands to her face.

“What, is there like a rule book that forbids it?”

“No, but it’s frowned upon! I could get fired… maybe - I don’t know!”

“Well, I’ll check out of the hotel - right now!”

Lily puts her hands back down and looks at him. She tries, really tries to be the responsible adult here, but all she can think of is how she wants to rip that wet t-shirt off of him.

“Oh, fuck it.” She stands up on her toes and tangles her fingers in his hair, pulling him back down. She plants a hungry kiss on his lips, jaw, earlobe, then right under his ear and James reacts agreeably, closing the little space between them and pushing her against the wall. His hand slides down to her tigh, ready to prop her up so she can wrap her legs around his waist, and she willingly complies. It doesn’t take Lily’s hands long to find the hem of his t-shirt and pull it off him, allowing her hands to wander all over his smooth chest.

“Bed,” she mumbles against his neck, making a small shiver run down his spine.  

James doesn’t need to be told twice. He pushes them off the wall and leads them to the bed, letting them fall unceremoniously onto it. Lily straddles him, the pressure of her sitting on his crotch making him take in a sharp breath. He watches as she quickly discards her own shirt, letting her hair cascade onto her bare shoulders, and lowers herself onto him again. Her hands find his belt buckle.

“Shit.”

“What?” Lily says, pulling  back, afraid that she might have overstepped.

“I didn’t think about bringing any condoms, you know, since I would be going on holiday with my parents and would be sharing a room with Sirius.”

Lily smirks, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest, which makes him eyes roll backwards. “Good thing I thought of them then,” she says, looking up at him through her lashes. She halts and sits back up, then laughs nervously, realising what the situation looks like.

A smile pulls at the corners of James’ lips. “So you just knew I would be willing to have sex with you?” he says with a would-be offended look on his face.

“I, er, I always make sure to be, er, _prepared_.”

“ _You wanted to have sex with me, you wanted to have sex with me_ ,” he singsongs.

Lily rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. I’ve noticed the way you’ve been looking at me. I can read bedroom eyes, you know.”

“That would be something to add to your CV. Lily Evans: has taken humour classes, has good people skills, will make jokes out of guests’ surnames and can read bedroom eyes.”

Lily raises her eyebrows and tries to stop herself from smiling.

“Speaking of bedroom eyes,” James says, putting his hands behind his head and exposing his lower abdomen. “I’ve also noticed how you’ve been checking me out. I didn’t know a lifeguard’s duty also included keeping their eyes on their guests’ arse.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Not _all_ guests. Only those with nice ones. And you just happen to have an exceptionally nice one.” And as if to prove her point, she leans onto his bare chest and slides her hands down to his arse, which makes him hum agreeably against her lips.

* * *

 Lily lays on her stomach, James lounging on his side next to her, while he slowly traces a line with his hand down her bare back. She looks at him, eyes beaming, and slightly bites down on her growing smile.

“What?” James says, his expression a reflection of hers, propping himself on his elbow and resting his cheek on his hand.

Lily catches a glimpse of his wristwatch and her eyes open in horror. “Shit! Is that the time?” she says, grabbing his wrist. “My next shift starts in five minutes!”

She sits up, the sheet falling down to her waist, and James wraps his arms around it. “Can’t you afford to be two minutes late?”

He starts trailing kisses down the nape of her neck and Lily lets her head fall back for a moment, enjoying his soft lips against her bare skin, making the little hairs on her back stand up. She hums softly.

“No, I can’t,” she says, shaking him off. “So stop distracting me.”

James falls back onto the bed trying to look grumbled, although a smile quickly creeps back onto his face no matter how hard he tries, and watches her slip her knickers and bra back on. It’s almost as lovely as watching her take them off. Once she’s dressed, she looks at him and shakes her head. “If I could, I’d wipe that cocky grin right off your face.”

It only helps widen James’ smile. “Oh yeah? How?”

Lily doesn’t say anything. She simply leans onto him, their bodies separated by the thin sheet and Lily’s work clothes, and gives him a kiss that leaves him breathless and hungry for more. She presses another kiss to his jaw, his neck, and a little farther down on his chest, than gets up, making sure she slides off his body and heads towards the door.

“Hey, you can’t just leave after that! That’s not fair!”

Lily simply turns around and flashes him a smirk that could give him a run for his money, before shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Prongs to _the marauders *wolf emoji* *rat emoji* *dog emoji* *deer emoji*_ : GUYS

Prongs: I just had sex w/ the loml

Wormtail: mazal tov!

Padfoot: you did it in OUR hotel room???

Padfoot: james you dirty lil hoe

Prongs: we did it on your bed

Padfoot: BURN IT TO THE GROUND

Prongs: relaax i’m kidding _*kissy face emoji*_

Padfoot: you better be or i will do much worse things to your bed

Wormtail: i never ever want to know what those things are

Wormtail: remus wants to know if this is the girl you’ve been talking about non stop

Padfoot: yeeeees he won’t shut up about her it’s like he’s never seen a girl before

Prongs: _*middle finger emoji*_

Prongs: he’s just jealous bc there are no cute blokes around here

Padfoot: that’s not true i could always find myself a sugar daddy

Padfoot: the average age here is 50+

Prongs: ew

Padfoot: don’t kinkshame me

Padfoot: what’s remus doing anyway?

Wormtail: he’s being a very responsible boy so he doesn’t text and drive _*angel emoji*_

Padfoot: good lad

Padfoot: how’s the road? miss us already?

Prongs: i can’t believe i almost didn’t meet the the girl of my dreams bc we wanted to go on a road trip

Wormail: ouch _*broken heart emoji*_

Wormtail: remus says and i quote “Piss off.”

Prongs: _*red heart emoji*_

Moony changed the group to _james has just been deflowered_

Prongs: hey i’ve been deflowered for a number of years now!!

Padfoot: pls don’t crash the car remus

* * *

 “Table for four?” the usher says at the entrance of the country club’s restaurant.

At their affirmative answer, he guides the Potters and Sirius to a table covered in white linen and under which four leather seats are tucked.

“Your waitress will be here in a minute to write down your drinks, as well as announce the lunch specials.”

“So, what were you two boys up to yesterday afternoon?” Mrs. Potter says, once the usher leaves. “I couldn’t find either of you anywhere as always.”

James at the collar of his shirt, making sure none of yesterday’s love bites are showing. “Er, we were just hanging about.”

“Do you have a rash, James? You’ve been rubbing your neck for the last half hour,” she says, her brow wrinkled with concern.

Sirius stifles a laugh.

“Nothing gets past your mother, as usual,” Mr. Potter says, teasing his wife.

“Oh, I wish it were true. But I never know what these two boys are up to. And they never tell me anything, of course!”

“It’s for your own good, my dear. I’d rather not know what trouble they’re up to, it would make me lose what little hair I have left, I’m afraid,” he says, running his hand to his thinning salt-and-pepper hair.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. P. We’re always very good boys, aren’t we James?” Sirius says to him with a knowing smile. James looks daggers at him before hiding his growing blush behind his menu.

“How are you doing today, could I get you something to drink?”

At the sound of her voice, James’ eyes practically bulge out of his sockets behind his menu. He lowers it and finds himself staring at an equally flustered Lily, wearing a black apron and holding a pen and small notepad in her hand.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Lily!” Mrs. Potter says. “Dear me, is there any job that you don’t do around here? You practically run the whole place!”

Lily laughs nervously. “Nonsense, I’m totally replaceable,” she says, waving her hand dismissively.

“I doubt that,” Sirius mumbles, earning him a kick under the table from James.

“I hope you get some free time at least,” Mrs. Potter says, perching her arm on the back of the seat to face Lily.

“Plenty I hear,” Sirius says under his breath, earning him another kick. “Ouch! Stop that.”

“Boys, please behave in front of the nice young lady.”

Lily gives a tense smile. “So, could I get you something to drink?”

“I think I’ll start with an old fashioned. What about you, Fleamont?”

“Gin and tonic for me, please.”

Lily looks expectantly at Sirius and James.

“Oh, no alcohol for the boys.”

“ _Mum_ , we’re twenty,” James hisses.

Mrs. Potter sighs. “I think your father’s right,” she says, shaking her head. “I’d rather not know what you two get up to when we’re not around.”

“Just a pint for me, please,” James says still mortified by how his mum is embarrassing him in front of possibly the love of his life.

“Same for me,” Sirius says, enjoying the situation far more than what James cares for.

“Coming right up.”

* * *

 “How was everything?” Lily says, picking up the empty plates from their table.

“Quite excellent. Our compliments to the chef,” Mr. Potter says, giving her a small smile.

Lily reaches for James plate at the same time he does, making their arms brush. A slight blush appears on Lily’s cheeks.

“Did you get a sunburn, Lily?” Mrs. Potter says. “You shouldn’t skip sunscreen, especially if you’re working outside by the pool. It’s terrible for the complexion.”

“Must have slipped my mind,” she says painfully aware of the growing heat in her cheeks. “I’ll be more careful next time, thank you, Ma’am.” She finishes stacking the plates on her arm and walks back into the kitchen.

“I think we should give her a nice tip. She seems to work really hard, doesn’t she James?” Another kick under the table.

* * *

 “Come with me,” Lily whispers into James’ ear.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” She grabs his hand and starts running in the hotel corridors, down two flights of stairs and through a backdoor that James has never seen before. When she opens it, they go out into the summer night, the air heavy with the heat of the day that died on the horizon, and an occasional breeze relieving their warm and sun-kissed skin.

“Why have I never seen this pool before?”

“It’s reserved for the high season when lots of people are around.” She walks to the gate encircling the pool and pulls a jumble of keys out of her pocket.

James leans against the information plate nailed to the fence. “Doesn’t the pool close at 8 p.m.?” he says, pointing to the exact line where it says so. He checks his wristwatch. “It’s about 11:30 p.m. now.”

“Employee privileges,” she says, pushing the gate open with a screechy whine, a glim of mischief shining in her eyes. “Are you coming or what?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Do you like it?” Lily says, her arms wide open embracing her surroundings and her steps echoing on the stone ground. The water is almost still and the moonlight breaks its surface into a fraction of different white fluorescent shapes which reflect onto their skin like a projected film with singing crickets as its soundtrack.

“I love it.” He slips out of his shirt and trousers, discarding them on the ground and jumps into the water.

“Lily! Lily… help me… can’t… swim…” he says, letting himself sink to the bottom of the pool every few seconds.

Lily chuckles, shaking her head, and slips out of her shorts.

“I’m a bit concerned here,” he says, pulling his wet hair away from his face. “Do you always take this much time to jump in the pool when guests are drowning?”

“Don’t act like you’re not enjoying it,” she says, pulling her shirt off and revealing her lacy bralette. She dives smoothly into the pool, barely making a splash, and James sinks back into the depths of the water before she hoists him out, enjoying the contact of her wet skin against his.

James inhales dramatically once they break the surface and says, “I need mouth to mouth asap.”

She laughs and obliges willingly, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist, while one of her hands slide to the back of his neck, fingers toying with his wet hair. James’ hands stroke her skin up and down her outer thighs.

“I can’t help… but wonder…” he says breathlessly between kisses. “Is this how… you treat all your guests or am I… just getting… special favours?” He can feel her smiling against his lips.

“ _All_ guests, of course. Didn’t you read the fine print on the welcome pamphlet?”

“Must have missed that.”

“Pity.”

She lowers herself into the water, the surface hovering right under her eyes, and looks at him through her eyelashes. James cocks an eyebrow at her and, before he has the time to say anything, she springs back up and spits a mouthful of pool water onto his face before swimming away, cackling.

“Very mature. I’ve lived with Sirius since before I care to remember, you know. I’m used to this type of stuff.”

“Miss Evans! What in God’s name are you doing here?”

Lily jumps. “Mrs. McGonagall, I - I - ”

Mrs. McGonagall was a forty year old woman who always wore her black hair back into a tight bun and never looked as if you’d want to start trouble in front of her, especially is said trouble entailed being caught in the pool after hours with your _love interest_. She was now standing at the edge of the pool, her arms crossed, and her foot tapping on the stone ground.

Also, she's Lily’s manager.

“I, er, was checking the pool temperature?” she says, shrinking down into the water as far down as she can, hoping that it might swallow her whole. “And now I can safely say that it’s way too cold for guests to swim in. Come on, James, let’s get out.”

She climbs out of the pool, closely followed by James, and painfully aware that her manager is currently seeing her in her underwear, which is not a situation she would have ever wished upon herself. She winces, dreading the terrible “You’re fired!” to shoot out of her mouth like a fatal arrow.

McGonagall takes a deep breath. “I have to say, I’m not entirely surprised that this has happened. You’re not the first employee to enjoy a little midnight swim with a significant other, and as I didn’t fire them before, i won’t fire you either. At least not tonight.”

Lily is ready to fall on her knees and kiss McGonagall’s feet.

“Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ ,” Lily says, pressing her palms together.

“Now, please put your clothes back on and come back inside. It’s getting cold outside and Mary has prepared some hot cocoa in the kitchens. You’re welcome to come too, young man,” she says, looking at James over the brim of her glasses, although he isn’t sure if it sounds more like an invitation or a threat.

* * *

 James kisses Lily down her stomach, holding her shirt up with one hand while dropping to his knees, and, when his lips find her hip bone, she takes in a sharp intake of breath, her fingers burying themselves in his curls. He slips a finger under the hem of her shorts, tugging at them playfully.

The lock clicks, but both of them are too immersed in their present activities to hear it.

“What. The. _Fuck_!”

That, they do hear. James shoots up, possibly jumping five feet away from Lily if it weren’t for the fact that the hotel room isn’t big enough.

“Marlene!” Lily and James says simultaneously in similar flustered tones.

Indeed, standing in the doorframe is Marlene, her dark frizzy hair crazier than usual and her mouth dropping lower than what would have been thought possible, the key card fallen by her feet.

Lily and James look back at each other, confusion written all over their faces. “You know her?” they both say.

“Wait, what are you doing here?” James asks.

Marlene shakes her head quickly, as if checking that her brain was functioning properly. “I came to see Lily at her job, but I couldn’t find her, and I ran into your parents downstairs by accident, and Sirius gave me your room number and key, and what the fuck, WERE YOU TWO ABOUT TO FUCK?”

“Er…”

Lily and James look back at each other, giggling nervously.

“But, Lily, what about that guy you were seeing?” Marlene asks.

“You’re seeing another guy?” James says, his smile falling into a crestfallen expression.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes,” Marlene insists. “That guy who you said was tall and fit and had adorable tousled hair.” She stops for a moment and her eyes open like plates. “You mean to tell me that James is that guy? That this gangly, lanky git with a mop of hair _is_ that guy?”

“But, wait, how do you know each other?” Lily says.

“This is James Potter! We’ve known each other since we were kids!”

Realisation suddenly dawns upon Lily, while she makes the connection between her James and the boy in all the stories Marlene has told her about the sort of trouble they got up to when they were children.

“So, you’re _the_ James Potter?” Lily says, not being able to hide her amusement. “The kid who got Marlene to drink her own piss on a bet when she was nine years old?”

“The one and only,” he says, a smile etching itself on his face at the recollection of his childhood memories. “It is still, to this day, one of my accomplishments I am most proud of. How come you have the mispleasure of knowing Marlene?”

“We worked together at a café last summer.”

“Wait,” Marlene says, looking as if she might pass out any moment. “DON’T TELL ME _HE’S_ THE BEST SEX YOU EVER HAD!”

This time it’s Lily’s turn to look horrified as her cheeks become a vivid crimson. On the other hand, James looks as if he were a little kid who had been told that Christmas had come early, with a boyish grin splattered across his face.

“Scratch that, Lily. This is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of.”

**Author's Note:**

> if this ain't cheesy  
> but boy do i like cheesy


End file.
